Nation's homeless deserve our support

This year I have heard Amnesty International, the United Nations, civil libertarians and every politician who can stand upright speak in defence of asylum seekers and how they deserve to be housed in Australia and treated with respect.

Yet not one of them are concerned with the treatment of the homeless in Australia.

They apparently don't have the same rights as asylum seekers.

Australia's homeless are subject to mental illness, violence, rape, murder and as a group are largely ignored by those in power to help.

Please understand, I have no ill feelings towards asylum seekers but I feel the homeless of Australia deserve at least as much attention and financial support, and I have a potential solution.

Australia currently has 100,000 homeless. Each year Australia accepts 20,000 of the world's needy in the form of 14,000 refugees and at least 6000 asylum seekers.

Can't we take the money currently spent on those groups and house our homeless first? Australia could wipe out homelessness in five years. Shouldn't that one of the goals of "the lucky country"?

Before you start saying I am racist please consider that many of the homeless in Australia were born overseas.

You wouldn't house a stranger and let your family sleep on the streets yet that is what our government is doing.